RWBY- Timeless
by KinkyPenny
Summary: Cieryl Jade, an ancient Hunter, learns the daughter of his lost love will be attending Beacon. deciding to face his demons, he goes to her, ready to confront her and tell her the truth of how her mother died.
1. An Unexpected Call

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Call

The wind was picking up, he noticed. Looking out in the distance, he could see a sandstorm, hopefully moving in a different direction.  
He planted Tempus Comedenti firmly into the ground, the dark steel blade shimmering in the daylight, the blood of his most recent kill still running down its edge. He lifted his mask, wiped his brow, and took a drink from his canteen. "I'm getting to old for this."  
he thought out loud. He looked back at the Deathstalker he had just killed, its head cleaved in two, blood still oozing from the split. He almost lifted his mask back up, and started to head East, when his Scroll started ringing. A familiar, grey haired, spectacled face appeared on the screen. "Hey Ozpin, it's been awhile."

"Indeed it has, Cieryl." The sound of Ozpin sipping his coffee could be heard; "How have you been?"

Cieryl sighed "Oh the same as usual. Hunting Grimm day in and day out. You almost never call, whats the occasion?"

"Well, we have a new recruit coming. A student of which I'm sure you'd be interested in seeing. Do you remember Summer?"

Cieryl raised an eyebrow "How could I not?"

"Her daughter will be attending this year. I know it isn't the same, but I know what you felt for her. Perhaps you could come meet the girl? I'm sure she'd like to hear some stories about her mother."

Cieryl took a deep breath "I don't like talking about her. You know that."

"You can't blame yourself forever. What happened wasn't your fault. Come see the girl. Maybe you'll come to terms with what happened if you talk to her."

"We'll see..." and with that, Cieryl closed his scroll. _Perhaps Ozpin is right..._ He thought sadly. _She does deserve to know, I suppose._  
With that, he scratched his chin, lifted his mask, and headed North to Beacon. _I hope I don't regret this later.._. He thought

 _ **Beacon Academy**_

Cieryl arrived late in the evening 3 days later. He headed towards the school, straight to Ozpin's Office. It had been a long time since he had been there, but he still knew the way. His footsteps echoed throughout the halls as he ascended the stairs to the Headmaster's office. He knocked on the door.

"Come in, Mr. Jade. I've been waiting for you"

He opened the door, seeing the Headmaster stand before him. "You look like Hell, Ozpin!"

"Yes, well not all of us are immune to aging, Cieryl. I'm in my mid 60s and show it. You're over 200 years old, and you don't look a day over 40."

"I'd rather not be immortal actually" He said, as he gave Ozpin a brotherly hug "So where is the kid?"

"I believe she is downstairs sleeping with her sister. They have initiation tomorrow. It's getting late you know."

Cieryl raised an eyebrow "Sister? You didn't say anything about a sister or a twin!"

"There aren't any twins, Cieryl. Yang is her older half- sister. Summer's daughter, Ruby, showed great skill with her weapon, so I bumped her ahead 2 years so she could start here"

"Ruby, huh? Ruby Rose..." Cieryl was lost in thought for a moment. "That was always her favorite color..." He whispered

"Perhaps you should get some sleep. I will have Glynda wake you in the morning to see the initiation. Maybe you can speak to her after"

Cieryl nodded. It suddenly dawned on him at how utterly exhausted he was "Alright, Upstairs and to the left right?" Ozpin nodded "Okay"  
As he turned to leave, Ozpin spoke once more "Oh, and Cieryl? Do be light about the subject at first, when you speak to her. She's quite energetic and will no doubt ask you a lot of questions. However, I don't think she's quite ready to know what happened to her mother." With that, Cieryl closed the door, headed to his room, and slept.  
-

 ** _The field was bloody, dead Grimm, everywhere, when something caught his eye_**  
 _ **Summer, MOVE!**_  
 _ **NOOOOOOOO!**_

Cieryl woke up with a start, the nightmare still fresh in his mind

"I hope... I hope the kid can forgive me..." he whispered sadly

Cieryl buried his face in his hands, and silenty cried


	2. Turning Back Time

Chapter 2

Glynda came the next morning to find Cieryl already awake. He was sitting in the bed, performing maintenance on his weapon. It was an impressive piece; a sleek, dark, metal Claymore with a few empty Dust cartridges in the cross guards

"Morning, Glynda" He grumbled; "Is it time already?"

"Yes, Mr. Jade, they are moving out to the Emerald Woods as we speak, follow me." She said curtly

Cieryl put Tempus Comedenti into its scabbard, and followed her out onto the cliff face, where Ozpin was standing, monitoring the students with his Datapad

"I'm afraid you missed the launch" he said. Cieryl nodded, pulled binoculars from his satchel, and watched the events of the day unfold.  
There was some poor blonde kid speared to a tree, some redhead that looked like a Spartan, an Asian kid rather skillfully taking out a King Taiju without breaking a sweat while a ginger with a mallet bigger than she was sat in the tree above him. There was a blonde fighting a few Beowolf alongside a dark haired young woman. The he saw her. _That hood and cape, just like Summer... That had to be her!_  
"That's the one, Ruby Rose." Ozpin said, looking over Cieryl's shoulder "She's very talented with that weapon of hers, albiet very uncoordinated with a teammate,  
much to the dismay of Miss Schnee there"

"Schnee? As in the Dust company?"

"That's the one."

"Why isn't she studying in Atlas?" Cieryl asked

"Not sure, but everything checked out, so we admitted her." Ozpin replied They continued watching the initiates, but Cieryl only had eyes for Ruby. He watched as she ran up the side of the cliff in a flurry of rose petals and decapitated a Nevermore

 _She shares her mother's semblance_ Cyriel thought to himself With that, he started to leave "I'll be back, Ozpin!" He called over his shoulder

 _ **Badlands**_

Cieryl was in a state of depression. He took an airship out to the Badlands in the hope of hunting some Grimm. "What do I tell her? What if she asks how her Mom died?"he asked himself. As he zoned out of his thoughts he noticed he had no idea where he was. He went to take his scroll when he had a sudden thought. _Where are all the Grimm that used to be here?_ He wondered. Something moved in his peripheral vision and he drew Tempus from his back. He heard the cock of rifles and turned around to find 3 men, all of them obviously Fauna, wearing sinister looking masks

White Fang

Cieryl raised his sword as the Dust bullets started raining on him. At once, Tempus activated, and began to glow as it absorbed the Dust that came in its direction, filling the empty Dust crystals in its hilt, the White Fang members tried to run, as he focused his blade and a beam of ice Dust returned to his attackers, freezing them in place. He quickly barreled into them, swinging Tempus down upon them, shattering the now dead frozen men. He then looked around, trying to spot more

Pain. Pain tore through his body as a blade impaled him from behind. As he fell to his knees, he saw a pair of white, high heeled boots approach him from behind. He looked up at his attacker, one eye closed, and was surprised at the sight. A very short girl with pink and brown hair, toting an umbrella, stood before him, grinning down at the dying man. Then he noticed her eyes.

One pink, one brown

"Interesting eyes you have there;" he spat "I can do that too!" he said as he opened his other eye. His left eye, she saw to her amazement, was a now a silver and black clock "Tick, tick, tick, tick" she heard as the clock wound backward. She then saw that his would had disappeared and he was beginning to stand. The man was easily 6' 6" and had a salt and pepper goatee with shaggy salt and pepper hair

Her eyes widened. He leaned down next to her ear and whispered "Run" She back up in a panic as Cieryl raised his blade, but when he struck, she shattered like glass, and she was gone. Cieryl pulled out his scroll and dialed a number "Ozpin? There's White Fang out here in the Badlands near beacon. They have someone with them. I'm heading back there now to give a report"

"Understood. I'll meet you in my office when you get here" Ozpin hung up

Minutes later, an airship started descending overhead. As Cieryl got on board he looked back _Who was that woman?_ He thought; _And what are White Fang doing in this area?_

He scratched his chin in thought as the airship took to the skies once more


	3. Cieryl's Story

Chapter 3

A few days after the encounter, still nothing had been found. Cieryl had gone later with some other hunters and huntresses, but to no avail. Now, back at Beacon, He was preparing himself to speak to Ruby. He stood in the shadows of Ozpin's office waiting for her arrival. Ozpin announced over the speakers;

"Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long, please report to my office, immediately" Rang out across the halls. Cieryl swallowed hard. He spoke to Ozpin previously about talking to Yang as well, after Ozpin informed him that Yang was Summer's step-daughter and she had fond memories of her mother while she was alive. He jumped with a start as both the blonde he saw in the woods and the red hooded teen entered the room. Yang spoke fist.

"You wanted to see us, Professor?" Ozpin stood and walked towards the girls

"Yes, Miss Xiao Long. I have someone here who would like to meet you and your sister. He's a very old friend of your mother, Miss Rose. He wanted to come see you once he heard you were attending Beacon." Ozpin nodded toward the shadows where Cieryl stood. Ruby turned first and lifted her hood. Cieryl gasped and covered his mouth as he saw her eyes. SUMMER'S eyes.  
He coughed and turned his head so they wouldn't see the tear that rolled down his cheek. Cieryl took a second to compose himself, then stepped from the shadows. Yang perked up suddenly

"I remember you! You used to visit my dad on occasion when I was little!" Cieryl blinked. In truth, he forgot about Yang. Mainly because last time he saw her, she was around 5 years old.  
He also though 'she' was a 'he' Cieryl just never bothered to ask

"That was..." he paused "that was a very long time ago"

"You were friends with mom?" Ruby cocked her head to one side "You look a little old" She said suspiciously

"Well, you're not wrong" he said, grinning. Ozpin spoke next

"Miss Xiao Long, Miss Rose, why don't you go with Mr. Jade here out onto the grounds for awhile. I feel as though you have much to discuss"  
-

 _ **THE GROUNDS**_

It was cloudy out, almost as though it were to rain. Still, he walked with them and found a table to sit at on the patio near the cafeteria. He looked at the girls before him "What do you girls remember about Summer?" He bit his cheek, still conscious of how hard it was to even say her name

"She was very kind. Always made sure we had what we needed" Yang said

"Not a lot. She died when I was very little. Daddy said it was some sort of accident" Ruby replied

With that, Cieryl had to cover his face, as the tears came again. "i'm sorry;" he said "It's very difficult to talk about"

Yang and Ruby both smiled "Then don't!" They both said "We know what kind of person our mother was and we know she wouldn't want anyone to be sad" Ruby added

Cieryl looked at them both "Your mom... it was more than an accident" Ruby and Yang frowned "It was my fault..."

Yang sized him up suspiciously "What do you mean?"

Cieryl took a deep breath as he began his story "Your mother and I were friends since I was the combat professor at Beacon. After she and the rest of her team graduated, they would regularly ask me to come with them on Hunting trips so naturally, I went with them. After awhile, your mother trusted me to hunt solo with her.  
Your mother was a wonderful fighter by the way" He said, remembering "She had a certain deadly grace with the way she fought."

Yang and Ruby listened intently, watching Cieryl's get more and more sorrowful as he continued

"We went on a hunting mission one day, it was supposed to be easy. A Beowolf nest near a simple village. Wanted to make sure the folks living there didn't have any problems.  
We went there, but there was a lot more than we expected. We both fought without falter. I was fighting one last Beowolf when something caught my eye..." he continued "There was a Nevermore, but thinking back, it was different. A white tint to its feathers, with a red mask. Your mother didn't see it. I called out to her..." _Summer, MOVE!_  
Fresh tears rolled down his face as he remembered _NOOOOOOO! SUMMER!_ He took a moment, and a few deep breaths, and went to finish his story

"It shot its feathers at us. She didn't move in time... a feather impaled her stomach... I decapitated the Beowolf and ran to her side, but her injuries were to severe. The Nevermore escaped as I held her, dying in my arms... knowing I couldn't help... she gave me this..." He reached down the front of his shirt and pulled out a pendant. It was a rose, a white and gold rose with opal petals. "Her last words are the ones on her memorial. 'Thus Kindly I Scatter'... it should have been me... I wasn't fast enough... it's my fault...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry"

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked down and Ruby was sitting next to him, looking up at him. "It's not your fault. It couldn't be helped." Yang nodded "She died valiantly and saving people's lives. that's how she would have wanted it. No regrets."

Yang spoke next "What happened was a long time ago. There is no changing it now. She died a hero. As Ruby said, she would have had no regrets."

"One thing gets me though. You said you were friends with Mom back when you were a professor here. You can't be THAT old, can you?"

Cieryl chuckled "I'm 212 this Winter" Yang spat out her drink and Ruby started laughing

"No seriously, how old are you?" She asked after she caught her breath

"I am serious. I'm 211. My semblance prevents me from aging" he winked his left eye, showing the clock that softly ticked away "When I get injured, my semblance automatically turns back time for my body until I am returned to an uninjured state. The same applies for aging. Once I hit 42, I stayed like this. My semblance recognizes this as my prime so it automatically turns back time for my body so that I don't get old. Honestly, the only way that I think I can be killed, is if I'm killed instantly. If my heart continues to beat, so does my semblance"

Yang cocked her head to one side "You're in pretty good shape for a guy that's eons older than Ozpin..." She grinned at Ruby and Cieryl and all three of them lost it laughing.

 _Maybe this... maybe this isn't so bad_ He thought...


	4. Stopping The Clock

Chapter 4

 _ **BEACON ACADEMY**_

Cieryl was tuning Tempus when there was a knock on the door. He didn't know who would be visiting, seeing as the girls were on a field trip with Oobleck.  
"Come in." He said over his shoulder. Ozpin entered, looking stern "Yeah, what's up?" Cieryl asked

"Well, after your encounter a few weeks ago, we have been continually searching that area. We found something you may want to see." Ozpin explained

"Have an airship ready for me. I'll be down in five." Cieryl replied, grabbing his cloak, and sheathing his blade.  
He felt an air of relief knowing thathe will finally be able to get a glipse as to what White Fang was up to as the airship departed once again.

BADLANDS

Upon his arrival, there was a team of hunters and huntresses waiting for him. "We found a sealed door hidden over here in a cave. Didn't want to open it until you got here, Sir!" The Hunter shouted over the engines of the airship. Cieryl nodded and followed them. They blew the door off the hinges and slowly entered. The place was huge. Cages lined the walls. Massive cages, rusted and bent in some places. There were a few wires and odds and ends, but the place had been cleaned up really well. _What were they doing here? What were these cages for?_ Cieryl wondered. Giving up the hope of finding anything, Cieryl boarded the airship once more, the others staying in his wake, just in case. Then he heard it. The alarm from the city. Looking out, there was smoke coming from the center of town.

"Change of plans!" he called to the pilot "Take us down there!" The pilot nodded in response.

 _ **THE CITY**_

The city was in chaos. A train had crashed through the underground tracks and Grimm were pouring out of the tunnels. In the middle of it, were team RWBY. Yang and Blake were fighting Deathstalker, Weiss was fighting a King Taiju... _Wait, where's Ruby?_ he thought. Then he saw her, alone, attempting totake down an Alpha Deathstalker. He jumped, memories flashing through his mind.

" **RUBY, MOVE!** " he shouted.

She looked at its stinger and dove out of the way just in time. He landed on the ground in front of it, holding Tempus in a defensive stance.

"Ruby, go assist your parter. She needs you. I'll deal with this." Ruby nodded and vanished in a flurry of rose petals.

"One of you bastards took Summer away from me... **I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HER DAUGHTER TOO**!" He roared bringing down his blade. Tempus glanced off the Alpha's armor without a scratch. Again and again, he struck looking for a weak point until he saw that it opened it's mouth with every strike of its tail. The problem was, it struck to fast to do anything about it. Or rather it would be for anyone else. Cieryl raised his sword, took a deep breath, focusing his aura, and just as the Alpha lunged its tail, ready to kill, Cieryl actived his semblance. At once, a giant clock face appeared around the battlefield, slowing time for all except him. Using all his strength, he plunged the blade into the open mouth of his opponent, forcing it down its throat. Blood gushed outward around the blade as it screamed in pain, drowning in its own ichor. It was dead.

He quickly looked around and saw Blake, who was about to get snagged in the claw of the Deathstalker she and Yang were fighting. Still working with his semblance, he shouldered Blake out of the way, swung Tempus upward, and dismembered the creature's claw just as time started flowing normally again..

"What the... how... how did you get here?" She stammered

"Time was on my side, it seems." Cieryl said, grinning as he helped her up. He then, without even turning to face it, plunged his blade through the head of the weaker beast, cleaving it in two.  
Yang looked at him in surprise.

"Where the HELL did you come from?!" She panted, looking just as confused as her teammate.

"Irrelevent. Keep fighting!" he yelled. At that moment, the Atlesean fleet started flying overhead, raining reinforcements down, working alongside teams JNPR and CFVY to tear up the remaning Grimm. After the last Grimm had fallen, he looked around and saw Ruby, who was slumped down sitting on a bench, clearly exhausted.

"What's wrong, Ruby?" he asked her

"Nothing, Uncle Cieryl, just tired. We caught the guy we were after as well. Roman Torchwick." she pointed at a man being questioned in cuffs by a few officers.

"Never heard of 'em." Cieryl replied. Yang, Weiss, and Blake all walked up and sat down next to them.

"We did it!" Weiss cheered.

"That was a close call for Blake, though. Another second by that Deathstalker's claw and we'd have had a real CAT-astrophe!" Yang said giggling, looking for someone to laugh at her joke.

"Yang... just... just no." Blake said, shaking her head.

"Let's catch a ride back and get some food, guys! I'm starving!" Ruby said excitedly.

"Sure. One sec, though." Cieryl said, getting up and walking towards Torchwick and the Officers, leading him away. Torchwick looked at him with sarcastic glee.

"Ooh, you're a big guy, aren't you!" he asked humorously.

"You listen to me, kid. If I EVER hear of you hurting, or attempting to hurt Ruby or her friends again, I will ensure and garauntee you an eternity of pain. I am over 200 years old, so believe me... I KNOW WHAT ETERNITY FEELS LIKE!" He roared. " **THERE IS NO PLACE, NOR PERSON ON THIS PLANET THAT CAN HIDE YOU FROM ME!** **I HAVE LITERALLY AN ETERNITY TO HUNT YOU DOWN AND I WILL NEVER STOP! HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR?!** " The only thing that could be heard as he finished was the echo of his rant, ranging across the rooftops, as the entire plaza of Hunters, Huntresses, and Marines all stared at him. Torchwick however was white as a sheet and was terrified.

"Y-y-yes sir!" he stuttered.

"Good! Take him away!" he said to the officers and they carted him off. Teams JNPR and RWBY were standing behind him, both teams staring at him with interest.  
"Now, let's get some food. I'm hungry as hell." Upon seeing their faces, he added "What?"

"Nothing, Uncle Cieryl!" Ruby said happily. She ran up and hugged him, and skipped off to the airships and the rest of her team and JNPR followed suit, JNPR whispering amongst each other.

Cieryl boarded the ship alongside RWBY while JNPR boarded elsewhere. Cieryl was instantly bombarded with questions about his age, and it was very obvious that when Ruby and Yang told Weiss and Blake about him, they didn't mention anything else besides that he was friends with their mother. He laughed a bit and started telling stories the entire trip back to Beacon...


	5. A Ship Comes To Port

Chapter 5

 _ **BEACON ACADEMY**_

With the tournament beginning, Cieryl started working to help train RWBY more vigorously. Ruby was a natural leader, having team attacks set up for all of them, as well as them being well rehearsed as to their meaning, let alone how well chorused they were with each other. In truth, all he could really teach them at this point was focus.  
That and Yang needed some anger management. All in all, they did well, seeing as they were victorious in their match against team ABRN. It was quite a surprise, however, when Winter Schnee arrived on campus. She was close with Cieryl who had assisted her on multiple occasions with Atlas military affairs. She greeted his with a strong handshake.

"Hello, Mr. Jade. I was not expecting to see you here." She said promptly. _Always with the professionalism_ Cieryl thought. "I'm looking for my sister, Weiss. She's the partner of Qrow's (she gritted her teeth at his name, although why, Cieryl didn't know) niece. Have you seen her?" She asked.

"'Fraid not. I know where her dorm is though if you wanna follow me." He replied, leading her onto the grounds. At that moment, there was a crashing sound followed by metallic clanging. Heading to the source, they saw a drunken Qrow tearing up a few of Atlas' robotic soldiers.

"QROW!" Winter yelled, making him jump. "You are destroying Atlas military property!"

Qrow looked around. "Oh... I'm sorry..." he said sarcastically, but perked up upon noticing Cieryl. "Hey buddy! It's been awhile!" he said, completely ignoring Winter and hugging Cieryl.  
"How've you been big gu-ACK" He was cut short by Winter grabbing him by his ear and dragging him off to the side. They whispered among each other for a few minutes but clearly Qrow was too drunk to get what she was saying. Her face turned red as she yelled:

" **YOU GOT ME PREGNANT YOU DRUNK BASTARD!** "

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed. After a moment of staring at her, Qrow leaned in and kissed her. Even though it didn't seem possible, she turned even redder as she accepted the kiss.

"In that case, I need to quite drinking." he said grinning at her

"You... you mean it? You won't shrug me off?" Winter beamed.

"I may be a drunk asshole, but I'm a mildly responsible drunk asshole." he said, hiccuping.

"I don't know what all the excitement is about out here, but a fight is about to happen inside the colloseum, and it has MUCH better seating... and popcorn!" Ozpin said out of nowhere.  
Cieryl whirled around and there he was. Next to him was Weiss, looking mortified at Qrow and Winter, and Ruby who was bouncing with excitement.

"Hey Winter, I found your sister." he said, pointing. Winter then walked over to Weiss and they walked off together, Weiss bombarding her with questions.

"UNCLE QROOOOOWWWWW!" Ruby yelled happily, jumping and latching onto Qrow's arm "Hi!" she added cutely. "OHHHH it's so good to see you! Didnja miss me? DIDJA MISS ME?" She asked him.

He grinned. "Nope!" he said, ruffling her hair.

Cieryl chuckled and walked back inside, now looking for Yang. He went to the dorms to find her. As he approached, RWBY's door opened and Jaune Arc came stumbling out Yang giving him a kiss once he regained his balance. His eyes widened as he noticed Cieryl standing there.

"uh..." was all he managed to say before Cieryl had him pinned to the wall, Tempus stabbing through the sleeve of his shirt, holding him in place.

"WHAT in Hell's Bells are you doing with Yang?!" he question Jaune, as the blonde boy gulped in fear

"Uncle Cieryl, relax. We've been dating in secret for a month now. We just aren't ready to tell anyone yet." Yang explained.

Cieryl relaxed and let Jaune slide down the wall with a thud. "Alright." he said, helping Jaune to his feet. "Sorry kid, protective instincts." Jaune dusted himself off.

"It's okay. I'm expecting the same response from her dad, sooooo yeah..." he scratched his head nervously.

"Well you arent wrong." Cieryl said, chuckling. "I'm watching you two though. Because this;" he pointed at the two of them; "Is EXACTLY how you were born, Yang."

Yang and Jaune both turned a violent shade of pink. "Don't tell anyone! Please, Uncle!" Yang begged.

"Fine, but I need to talk to you, like now." and he followed her into her room.

"What's up?" Yang asked

"I'm going out for a few days to survey they area. I found evidence of White Fang nearby and its making me nervous. I want you to call me if anything happens while I'm gone. And I hate to ask, but please check in with me each night so I know nothing is happening?"

"Sure thing." Yang replied Cieryl programmed his number into her Scroll and vise - versa.

"Take care kiddo." He told her as he headed out. He went to the grounds and boarded and airship, taking off once more.

 _ **AIRSHIP**_

Halfway there, something went wrong. The ship started swaying a bit, so he checked on the pilot. "Whats going on?"he asked the man

"I don't kno-"

The engine blew. The airship spun out of control. Cieryl braced for impact as the ship came down. There was no time to react. He grabbed at the rose that hung around his neck, then everything went black.


	6. A Change of Heart

Chapter 6

 _ **BEACON**_

Yang and Ruby were heading back to their dorm after a nice meal in the cafeteria. Yang stretched as Ruby opened the door and the both plopped down on their beds. Ruby yawned enthusiastically and immediately started snoring, and Yang pulled out her scroll to a new message. " _Blake and I went to the library to study. Be home later. ~ Weiss"_ It read. Yang yawned as well. She woke up a few minutes later, or so she thought, without even realizing she fell asleep. She looked at the clock. "Jesus! It's 11?! I need to call Uncle Cieryl!" She pulled out her scroll and dialed his number.

 _Beep beep beep_ No answer. She tried again. _Beep beep beep_ Nothing. "Hmm. Maybe hes asleep." she sent him a message. _"Just checking in, all good her, Unc! ~ Yang"_  
and fell back to sleep.

 ** _UNKNOWN_**

 _Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick_ Cieryl woke with a start, and attempted to sit up. A choice he immediately regretted, as he seemed to have a long piece of shrapnel sticking through his arm, as well as a huge portion of the main engine pinning his legs and abdomen to the ground. He coughed. "Hello?" he croaked out, looking around. He saw the pilot sitting against a tree with one of the turbine blades sticking out of his face plate. He saw his scroll a few feet away, but there was no way to reach it. He reached for Tempus in hopes of using that to reach it. He then noticed that Tempus was under him. "Shit." He said, laying back. "I hope they find me soon..."

 _ **BEACON**_

Yang woke up, got dressed, and checked her scroll. Her message had sent, but hadn't been read yet. She looked at the clock. 1 PM, he should have already woken up and seen it.  
A pool of dread filled her stomach, and she shook Ruby awake. "Cookies... mmmmm..." She mumbled in her sleep. Yang flicked her nose and she jumped.

"WAZZGOINGON?" she yelled sleepily.

"Ruby, check your scroll. See if you have anything from Cieryl. He asked me to check in, but he still hasn't seen my messages." Yang replied

"Nope, nothing." Ruby told her.

"That's not good..."

A knock at the door made them both jump. "Come in!" They both chimed, hoping it was their "Uncle"

Qrow opened the door, looking grim. _Wrong Uncle_ Yang thought.

"Girls, we have a problem. The airship your Uncle left in last night never came back. I'm going to find him." He explained.

"We're coming too, Uncle Qrow." Ruby said, grabbing Crescent Rose. Yang was next to her, arming and reloadingher Ember Celicas.

"Let's go" Qrow said, running out the door with the girls following him. "We tracked the last known location of his airship before it crashed so we are heading there now." He said, helping them board another ship.

UNKNOWN

There was rustling behind him, and whispers. "So... here we find the so called... 'Immortal Man'..." A voice said. He tilted his head backwards to see Torchwick, the pink and brown haired girl, and a woman with glowing eyes in a red dress. She, however, was wearing a mask. "Torchwick, finish him off... I didn't sneak you out of custody for nothing." Torchwick raised the barrel of his cane to Cieryl's face.

Cieryl glared. "Remember what I told you, kid." he spat

Torchwick's face changed, and his hand began to tremble. He looked at the woman. "Should we really do this? We don't know what he's capable of. He could potenti-uck..." The woman stabbed him in the throat.

"I told you, when I broke you out of prison. No more hesitation. I never needed you anyway. I just needed someone to control White Fang" she sneered.  
Cieryl looked up at the pink haired girl and saw her face. She was mortified as she watched Torchwick die. Her face then changed to an expression of rage. The other woman raised the gun to Cieryl's head, and pulled the trigger. He flinched, but no pain came. In fact, nothing changed. He looked up to see the pink haired girl covering him with her umbrella, he face covered in tears. She pulled a blade from the handle of her umbrella, but the other woman had already disappeared. She kneeled before Torchwick's body, and caressed his hair,  
and continued to sob silently. She set him down, and turned to Cieryl. "I loved him, and she murdered him." She mouthed silently. "I no longer serve her. I want nothing more than to kill her now."  
She continued. She walked over and helped Cieryl push the debris off his abdomen, and pulled the shrapnel from his arm. "Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick." sounded as his body healed. She helped him up and slung his arm of her shoulder as she picked his scroll, but the battery was dead.

"Nothing to do now but wait." Cieryl coughed out.

 _ **CRASH SITE**_

Yang, Ruby and Qrow's airship was directly above the wreckage. They slowly descended from rappel cables, and started earching the area. "Over here!" a gruff voice choked out.  
The three of them went behind some debris and found Cieryl sitting with the pink haired girl who, as Yang remembered, needed to have her ass kicked.

"YOU!" she roared, activating her semblance.

"Wait!" Cieryl said, throwing up his hands."She's an ally now. That woman, the one with the fire. She backstabbed Torchwick. Neo here switched loyalties as a result. She's with us now." Cieryl explained.

Yang relaxed and Ruby piped up. "Torchwick is dead?" Neo nodded, crying again.

"Let's get back to Beacon, we can figure everything out once we get there." Qrow added, helping Cieryl up.

They all boarded the airship and headed back home.


	7. Hell In A Handbasket

Chapter 7

 _Cieryl fought Beowolf after Beowolf, kill after kill, the woman he loved fighting gracefully by his side. Her rapier, Equinox, glistening brightly as she danced a deadly ballet. Parrying claws, and thrusting her blade into the hearts of the creatures again and again as they fell by her hand. She grinned and Cieryl, never knowing how he felt._  
 _A shadow loomed behind her and Cieryl turned too late._

 _" **Summer, MOVE!** "_

 _She turned and lurched backward as the feather pierced her body and her eyes widened in shock, blood pouring from her mouth._

 _" **NOOOOOOO!** " Cieryl screamed as he swung Tempus high, rending the head off of the last Beowolf in its pack. He ran to her, scooping her up in his arms,_  
 _stroking her hair as she coughed, more blood pouring past her lips. "I'm sorry Summer! Please, don't leave me alone! You're all I have! Please!" Tears poured down his face._  
 _"I love you, Summer! Don't leave me!" she smiled at him, and past all the blood, she still looked beautiful, even with Death looming over her. The light started to flicker in her eyes as she spoke._

 _"Cieryl... I'm sorry..." she reached down to her chest, pulling the pin from her cloak, a silver and gold rose with opal petals. "Take this... take it..." she whispered_

 _"Please... don't leave me alone..." Cieryl pleaded as he took the rose from her._

 _"Thus kindly... I scatter..." her voice trailed off, and her silver eyes met his green ones for a moment and something left the silver pair. She took a last shuddering breath, and Cieryl knew she was gone._

 _"No... Summer..." his face contorted into the most grotesque look of pain ever seen on it, as tears flowed uncontrollably from his face. He look to skies and screamed the most horrid, heart shattering sound of a man who had lost everything he cared for in the world._

He sat up, drenched in a cold sweat, looking around. He was in a hospital bed. He turned and saw a familiar pair of eyes looking at him with an expression of worry.

"Summer!" He grabbed her and held her tight.

"No Uncle!" the girl wheezed out, obviousl being crushed by his bear hug. "It's me Ruby!" she strained out, and Cieryl immediately let go, looking shocked.

"I'm sorry, Ruby... I... I had a nightmare." he explained.

"I know, Cieryl. It's okay. You dreamt of my mom, didn't you? You kept saying her name in your sleep." Ruby said

Cieryl sighed and scratched his face, which was still wet from the tears. "Yeah... It's all I ever dream any more."

"Uncle Cieryl, can I ask you something?" Ruby inquired.

"Sure."

"Did you... You loved my mom, didn't you?" she asked him softly.

"I never stopped. I never told her either. Not up until her last moments." Cieryl replied, his voice solemn.

"Why didn't you tell her?"

"Because, Ruby, she was my student. I was over 170 years old when I met her, and she was 21 when she graduated, I was too old, and too afraid to say anything. Plus, after she started trusting me more and more, she was already after Taiyang. So I just spent what time I could with her. I didn't want to ruin our friendship, or her trust. In all honesty, I've never loved anyone other than your mother. I don't have kids, not that they'd still be around at my age anyway, never got married. Only been in one or two relationships. I've never just found an interest in that. Being ageless is a curse, Ruby. If I ever married someone, and had kids, I'd watch them wither and die with time. I don't grow old. I'm over 200 years old. I'm tired. My eyes are heavy with the weight of all I've seen. Qrow figured out how to forget a long time ago. I just don't care for his method."

Ruby looked at him with sad eyes. "I never thought of it that way..."

"Most people don't. Truth be told, I've been ready to die for a loooong time. I just refuse to go out without a fight. Speaking of which, How long was I out?" he asked, pointing at the heartbeat moniter next to him.

"A couple weeks. I guess your semblance ran out of years to heal with, since it was constantly healing you under that debris, so you had to heal the old fashioned way. You weren't seriously injured though. Your guts just took a beating. Also speaking of which, my friend Penny is fighting in the tournament right now!" she clicked on the TV. Penny was fighting against Pyrrha and the battle was obviously a tough one. "Oh no... No... no!" Ruby yelled

"No what?" Cieryl asked

"Penny is a machine! Pyrrha's semblance is polarity!" she ran out of the room in a flurry of petals again. Cieryl started to stand, nd looked up to see Pyrrha use her semblance. The cables from Penny's blades wrapped around their owner. Cieryl's mouth opened in horror as she was torn in two. "Oh, God..." he got up and grabbed his gear from the nearby belongings bin. He quickly got dressed and armed Tempus when a voice echoed throughout the halls.

"This is NOT a tragedy, This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children to men who claim to be our guardians, but are, in reality, nothing more than men. Our academies' Headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both.  
They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil.  
What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference. And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching HIS students? First a dismemberment, now this? Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither. Perhaps Ozpin felt as though defeating Atlas in the tournament would help people forget his colossal failure to protect Vale when the Grimm invaded its streets. Or perhaps this was his message to the tyrranical dictator that has occupied and unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces? Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong. But I know the existence of peace is fragile, and the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves. As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is... equally undesirable. Our kingdoms are on the brink of war, yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark. So I ask you: When the first shots are fired... who do you think you can trust?"

Cieryl stood, at a complete loss for words. Gunfire caught his attention and he looked towards the windows.

Grimm were pouring out of the woods. _Ruby is going out there!_ He thought. He pulled out his scroll and called Yang.

"Hello?"

"Yang meet me at your dorm, we need to find Ruby. Grimm are invading, and she's out there somewhere!" Cieryl told her.

"I'll be right there!" She said hastily and hung up Cieryl started running, arming Tempus as he went. He bumped into a very worried looking Neo as he rounded a corner. "Come with me, we're gonna need yo-" He was cut off as an alarm started wailing around the school, alongside an announcement.

 _ **"Alert, Incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: Nine. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner."**_

Dread and fear filled Cieryl's very soul as he ran, Neo right on his heels.

War was indeed coming to Beacon.


	8. Battle of Beacon Part 1

Chapter 8

Beacon was in chaos. Citizens screaming and running, Grimm roaring as they fough with Atlas troops, bodies and broken machinery littered the ground.  
But none of that concerned Yang Xiao Long. Only one thing was on her mind: Find Ruby. She, Cieryl, and Neo fought side by side as they searched for the red headed girl. Looking out among the smoke, they could see Ren and Nora duelling with a Griffon, while Jaune and Pyrrha took down an Alpha Beowolf. Still no sign of Ruby.  
CFVY ran past them into the fray and Velvet stopped in front of Yang. She snapped a picture of Nora as she fought, then put the camera back in its box.

"Is now really the time to take pictures, Velvet?" Yang asked, her eyes shining crimson.

Velvet grinned and reached into her box. "It's the perfect time, Yang!" she replied, pulling Magnahiln from the box. Yang blinked and looked at Nora.

"FOR PANCAKES EVERYWHERE!" She screamed as she crushed an Ursa's head with Magnahiln.

"This is my weapon. I take a picture, and my box copies the weapon!" Velvet announced, turning and running into battle.

Coco was gunning Grimm down left and right as Velvet fired off grenades everywhere from her borrowed weapon. A smaller Nevermore dove at Velvet, who was too preoccupied to notice.  
Just before it could make contact and snatch her, Yatsuhashi caught the bird by its beak, got his arm wrapped around its throat, and slammed it into the ground. He swung one leg over its head, stood over it, and snapped its neck. "Thanks, Yatsu!" Velvet called.

"Come on, let's go! We have to find Ruby!" Yang shouted. As they turned to run, they heard a scream. They all turned as a Nevermore snatched Coco in its talons and took off.

"NOOOOOO! FOX HELP ME!" Velvet lifted Magnahiln, but paused out of fear of hitting Coco. It was too late. They watched in horror as it flew high, and Velvet and Yatsu had to watch as it dropped their leader to the earth. She landed a few feet away with a sicking crunch. They all ran to her, her body broken, her sunglasses askew. She was dead.  
Fox dropped to his knees at her side, feeling her corpse, and shook her, trying to wake her. "Coco... baby... please wake up..." he said as tears poured from his unseeing eyes.  
Velvet dropped to her knees beside him and buried her face in Coco's chest, her sobs echoing out. Yatsu pick up his blade and as the Nevermore came down for another strike, he threw his blade, the force and momentum of it, slicing the creature in half. Cieryl shook Yang.

"There's nothing more we can do. The Grimm are clear of this area and Ruby isn't here. We have to find her before this happens to her as well." Yang nodded and looked back one more time at the grieving team.

-

Winter and Ironwood had seen better times. They were fighting back to back, Winter summoned her knight to fight alongside her, while Ironwood fought with twin revolvers.

"You really shouldn't be out here if you're pregnant." Ironwood said.

"The only way I'll ever stop fighting is when I'm dead, General." she replied. The Grimm were getting thin in this area and Ironwood spoke up.

"I'm getting in the air. I'm going to get to my command fleet, I'll do more damage that way." he explained. "I'd ask you to join me, but I know you wont listen." he said as he boarded an airship.

Winter nodded and continued her fight alongside her summoned knight. She sat down on some rubble and rubbed her belly, and sighed deeply. She heard a groan as a mech came around the corner. She sighed in relief, then it raised it's weapons at her. Her eyes widened, for she didn't have time to move. She closed her eyes, waiting for the darkness to come.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She heard a man scream, as the mech's arms were both lopped off, deploying smoke a moment too late as the man's weapon sliced through the machine, destroying it. Winter stood and squinted through the smoke as it started to clear.

Qrow. His scythe shining bright as he set it on his shoulder, he walked up and kissed Winter. She noticed he didn't taste like liquor.

"You aren't drunk!" she said happily.

"I told you I would quit, and I am. Now, you're getting out of here. I won't let you, or our baby, get hurt out here." He replied

 _Our baby..._ she thought. _He's really ready to be a dad..._ she followed him to the entrance to a shelter.

"Stay here. I'll come find you once this is all over, okay?" he kissed her again, letting the door seal behind him, and ran back into battle.

-

Ruby was running. As soon as that woman made her announcement, everything went to Hell. Now, she tried to find her partner. She ran through the area. "WEISS!" she called.  
"WEISS!" she didn't see the shadow following her from the rooftops.

"Ruby over here!" she rounded the corner and Weiss was standing there waving at her, a few dead Grimm nearby. As Ruby ran to her, a shadow grabbed Weiss from behind, driving a blade through her. Weiss' eyes widened as she fell into a bleeding pile on the ground. The shadow stepped forward, revealing her identity. Emerald.

Tears streaming, she charged, drawing Crescent Rose on the fly. Emerald readied herself as Ruby impacted. Blades clanged against each other, but something wasn't right. She swung Crescent Rose and hit Emerald, but Emerald wasn't there. She turned as Emerald's blade came down... and Myrtenaster blocked it.

"I can't allow you to kill my partner, you bitch." Weiss said.

"Weiss! You're okay!" Ruby said, looking back at the pile, but seeing another Weiss still there. "Wait... what?" she said, puzzled.

"I saw you two fighting, but half the time, when you were swinging, there was nothing there. I'm assuming her semblance is illusion projection." Weiss explained.

The two vs one duel began between Weiss, Ruby, and Emerald. Despite the numbers, Weiss and Ruby couldn't see through the illlusions, causing them to bump onto each other, majorly impairing their combat. They looked at Emerald, as she raised her guns, and a blade pierced her heart from behind. As Emerald fell, Neo poked her head out from behind her, Cieryl and Yang right at her back.

"Oh thank God you guys are here... She almost had us!" Weiss said. "Her semblance was really screwi-mmmf!" Ruby grabbed her partner by the collar and planted her lips on hers.  
Weiss blushed madly as Ruby let go.

"Sorry Weiss. This may be our last battle so I just had to let it out." Ruby explained.

Weiss gave Ruby another quick kiss, armed Myrtenaster, and said "We will discuss this more later on. For now, sweetie, stay safe. We need to get back into combat. Beacon needs us!"

Without hesitation, the five of them charged back into combat, Weiss and Ruby smiling as they ran.


	9. Battle of Beacon Part 2

Chapter 9

Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Neo, and Cieryl dashed across the battlefield. Yang took out her scroll and called Blake, but there was no reply.

"I need to go find her! I'll be back!" Yang told them and turned to run, Weiss grabbing her sleeve.

"I'll go. Protect Ruby for me Yang. Just in case..." she turned to Ruby, and kissed her softly. "I'll see you soon!" and took off.

Ruby sighed and sniped a Grimm that was running after Ren, who was preoccupied defending Nora. Ren waved at Ruby in thanks, him and Nora running off to fight some more.

An Alpha Deathstalker was fighting Pyrrha and Jaune, but they were holding their own. It looked like Yatsu was defending Velvet and Fox, who were no longer fighting, but Ruby didn't know why. "What happened to them?" She asked Yang.

"Coco... Coco didn't make it... a Nevermore dropped her from really high up. She died on impact..." Yang dipped her head, and Ruby shed a tear. She didn't know Coco overly well, but she still considered her a friend. "Cmon sis, Beacon needs us." Yang added, poking her sister.

Jaune was now fighting a Griffon on his own while Pyrrha killed the Alpha Deathstalker. She turned in time to see Jaune get knocked out by the Griffon, and Pyrrha rushed to his aid. She took out the creature without much difficulty. Yang went to run to Jaune, and an airship got shot out of the air, flying straight towards them. Pyrrha looked up and activated her semblance, trying to hold the airship, but it was too heavy. She glanced back at Jaune, shed a tear, and used her semblance on his armor, throwing him to Yang, who caught him. She smiled for a second

"Take care of him, Yang..." and the ship hit her, exploding and bursting into flames on impact. Yang held Jaune and cried into his chest, causing him to stir.

"Y-Yang? What's wrong?" he asked, and she pointed. Pyrrha's spear and shield were on the ground nearby, showing where she was only moments ago. Jaune stood and ran to the burning wreckage and dropped to his knees. "No... Pyrrha... she was my best friend..." His eyes were wide with shock, not quite comprehending what happened to the teammate he just lost. 

Weiss fought her way through some White Fang, ducking and dodging as she went. After her opponents had fallen, she heard a fight nearby. She dashed around a few buildings and rounded a corner to see Blake get picked up and thrown through a wall by Adam. Adam picked her up and swung a finishing blow.

Blake was having her ass handed to her. She was no match for Adam. She was more the sneaky-beaky type. Not the rough and tumble type. She was trying to snag him with Gambol Shroud, but he just ripped it out of her hands. Weaponless, she still tried to fight. He picked her up and punched in the throat, making her gasp for air.

"Remind you of the old days, Darling?" he sneered. "I gave you everything. How DARE you turn your back on me?!" He wrapped his hands around her throat, choking the life from her. As her vision grew dark, she swung a kick as hard as she could, hitting him in the crotch, dropping her. She gasped, taking in the air, her lungs feeling like fire. Her relief was short lived, however, as he pounced on her, and threw her through a wall. He jumped on her, raising his fists. _He's going to kill me... I'm going to die here... alone..._ She thought. His fist came down and she closed her eyes... but nothing happened. She opened one eye to see a massive sword, made of ice, blocking Adam's fists. She looked up and a giant knight, made purely of ice stood over her, protecting her. She looked to the side to see a woman in white standing nearby, holding her weapon pointed atthe knight she was controlling.

"Weiss!" Blake coughed out. Weiss was obviously straining, as her knight continued to fight Adam. He was backing deflecting the blos the frozen behemoth, but lost his footing as he tripped, leaving him at an angle he couldn't correct. The knight brought his sword down, and Adam's head flew high, severed from the body that had caused Blake so much pain. Weiss ran to Blake, and picked her up.

"Come on. I'm getting you out of here!" she said, picking up Gambol Shroud. Blake sighed in relief.

"You came for me..." She said

"You're my teammate. I will never leave you behind." she said, carrying Blake to safety.

Ruby, Yang, Neo, and Cieryl were now fighting Grimm alongside Ren, Nora and Jaune. The Grimm's numbers were thinning, as were Atlas' machines, and White Fang had run off after hearing that Adam had fallen. Ruby blinked and Ren flew past her into a wall. He was half buried in rubble and Nora ran to his side. She shook him a few times, then sighed. "He's just knocked out. He'll be okay." She said, kissing his forehead.

"Damn... I was aiming to kill." A voice said, and Nora turned to see Mercury, and sparks flew from her as she shouldered Magnahiln. Ruby stepped forward with Yang to fight Mercury, but Nora yelled to them.

" **DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!** He tried to kill my Ren, and Pyrrha is dead because of the invasion he probably caused. He's **MINE**!" Nora roared. Happy, energetic Nora was gone, What stood before them now was Nora, feeling nothing but pure, unadulterated hatred. She raised Magnahiln and the fight began.

"Keep the Grimm away from them!" Jaune yelled and they continued fighting, building a perimiter around their friend.

Nora was going to make sure Mercury was crushed. Nobody messes with her Ren.


	10. Homecoming

Chapter 10

Nora swung Magnahiln, again and again, landing blow after blow to Mercury. However Mercury was no pushover and grabbed her, kicked her in the ribs repeatedly. She winced as she felt ribs break. She fell and saw Ren laying there, still unconcsious. Her resolve higher than ever, she turned over and cracked Mercury full force in the side of the head,  
sending him flying. She was on top of him again before he could even react. She swung her hammer high, bringing it down on his legs, shattering his prosthetic kneecaps.  
He threw up his hands, panicking as she raised her hammer again, a sinister gleam in her eye. "No no no wait!" He pleaded

"You will NEVER hurt my friends again. NEVER!" She screamed, dropping Magnahiln on his chest, crushing every bone and organ between the mallet and the ground beneath him.  
"Never again..." she panted as she passed out from the pain of her ribs.

"Nora!" Jaune yelled, and was clubbed over the head by a Beowolf, knocking him out once more. Weiss appeared at Ruby's side, carrying an unconscious Blake.

"She's beat up pretty bad. Adam almost killed her. She'll be okay though." Her nose was bleeding from the strain of summoning and she too, fell before Ruby's eyes.

"Weiss!" She said, alarmed.

"Ruby! A little help please?!" Yang asked, dancing around a Deathstalker, while Cieryl fought to Alpha Griffons at once. Ruby rushed to help Yang.

They heard a scream as Cinder landed on the ground, seeing the body of her last ally. Neo charged her and was cast aside like she was nothing, hitting her head and also falling unconscious.  
She aimed a blast at Yang, and Yang fell as Ruby finished off the Deathstalker. She aimed another blast at Ruby, Cieryl turning to face Cinder, again the memories flashed through his head.

"RUBY, MOVE!" He shouted as history repeated itself. The blast was about to hit Ruby and all Cieryl could think of was "Summer... I failed you." but the blast was blocked, by someone they had yet to see on the battlefield. Ozpin.

" **You have killed... my students. Children I swore to protect. If I had recognized you sooner, I would have acted earlier. I have seen these wonderful students fall again and again. and I have had ENOUGH! PYRRHA NIKOS SHALL BE THE LAST! I WILL NOT ALLOW ANOTHER STUDENT TO PERISH SO LONG AS I AM STANDING!** " He roared, drawing a sword from his cane and charging the woman. She drew a flaming sword from the scabbard attatched to her dress, and started to duel. The fight seemed like it would have no end. Blades clanged and fire burned.  
Ozpin was old though, and he was growing weary of the fight. Ruby and Cieryl watched as he faltered and Cinder slashed his chest. He dropped his sword in pain, and Cinder torched the ground beneath him, and the great and powerful Ozpin was no more. Ruby moved forward, ready to strike, knowing what would happen if she did. Yang grabbed her cape from the ground where she lay, coughing out what words she could.

"No Ruby... you can't go... I won't let you..." she said with tears in her eyes, Ruby felt a hand at her shoulder, and Cieryl stood before her.

"Stay here. I'll take this bitch down... Keep your sister safe, okay?" Cieryl knew there was no coming back from this.

"Uncle?"

"Yeah?"

"Say hi to my Mom... please..."

Cieryl's face filled with tears once more as he hugged Ruby. "I promise I will. See you on the other side, kid.." he said as he walked towards Cinder, who was laughing at the place where Ozpin had just been.

" **WHO WILL STOP ME NOW?** " She screamed.

"I will. I will not allow you to kill Ruby Rose or Yang Xiao Long. I will never allow it." Cieryl said, determined

"The man out of time... very well. FALL BEFORE MY FLAMES!" She cried, diving into battle with him. She threw her flames at him, which Tempus absorbed without hesitation. Seeing her flames were useless, she drew her sword once more. Tempus clanged against her blade, her burning him at every opportunity. His healing was running out, and he knew it. As his aura was almost depleted, and his clock no time to turn back to, Cieryl closed his eyes. He opened his eyes as his semblance activated for a final time. A giant clock face appeared on the ground of the battlefield, slowing time around him. With a final push, he plunged his blade into Cinder's heart. Her eyes widened in shock and an unearthly howl filled the skies.  
She went up in flames as Tempus activated inside her chest, emptying the flames it had collected back into her. Cieryl slumped down, as he knew it was over. Cinder had fallen, her allies defeated, and the Grimm were being pushed back. Ruby ran to his side, Yang limping behind her.

"Cieryl!" she cried, lifting his head into her lap "You can't die, remember?" She began to cry. Cieryl looked past her to see a familiar woman in a white cloak, watching over him

"Summer..." He whispered. He looked into Ruby's eyes as he closed his for the final time. "And now, the real Eternity begins..." he said softly, as everything went black.

 ** _A WEEK LATER_**

Ruby, Yang, and Taiyang stood before Tempus, stuck in the ground to mark Cieryl's final resting place, right next to Summer's, the white and gold rose pendant swaying softly in the wind as it hung from the hilt of the blade.

Taiyang spoke first: "Thank you... you gave your life so that my daughters could return home to me. Summer would be proud. She IS proud. Thank you..."

Yang stepped forward as her dad stepped away. "You saved my sister. Something I was unable to do. Thank you for that, and for the truth about mom."

Ruby came last. Tears fell as she stepped towards the two memorials. In her hands was the rose insignia she wore on her belt. She leaned forward and attached it to the chain her mother's pendant was on. "I will never forget the life and peace you sacrificed everything to bring to us. We love you... Uncle Cieryl." With that, she looked out into the sunset "We should head home soon. It's getting late." she said.

 _Cieryl I want to ask you something_

Ruby, Taiyang, and Yang turned to walk back.

 _Anything, Summer._

They started walking towards the woods.

 _As my Knight, I was to ask you to use your gift, to guard my family throughout the ages..._

The Beacon clock tower struck the hour. 8 PM. _Gong... Gong... Gong..._

 _I ask you as a favor to me..._

Ruby glanced back, swearing she could hear another sound layered withing the Clock tower's chimes.

 _I will do it for you, my Summer..._

"DADDY! YANG!" Ruby screamed, running to Tempus and clawing at the dirt.

 _Thank you, my Knight..._

"What is it?" Yang asked.

"Listen!" Ruby yelled.

Taiyang and Yang leaned close to listen.

 _Thank you.._.

Their eyes widened and they started to dig.

 _My Knight..._

"They got deeper and deeper, and hoisted up the coffin.

 _Goodbye..._

They opened the casket...

 ** _There was the sound of Ticking..._**

 ** _A/N:_** This wasn't my original plan. In the past few days, I started plotting a bit more and I decided to write another installment after this one. I don't have a full layout, but I have some ideas. I'll probably start writing in within the next few days and go from there. I really hope you guys enjoyed my first fic, and will continue to read  
more as I write. Thank you guys for reading!


	11. A Surprising Truth

Chapter 11

It had now been 2 weeks since the Fall of Cinder and the Reclaimation of Beacon. The dead were buried, but the recovery was far from over. Weiss, Ruby, and Blake were in the medbay at Beacon, their recovery being checked up on, Yang being released earlier that day. Doctor Crimson, a long time friend of Cieryl, was checking on an unconscious Velvet, with Yatsu sitting next to her, holding her hand. Fox had been missing since the Battle of Beacon ended, Rumor had it that he took off, unable to come to terms with Coco's death. Cieryl sat nearby, Doctor Crimson moving to him and starting to fuss over him.

"I don't know, Cieryl! Stop asking me over and over! I don't know how you came know more about your semblance than I do!" She said, still fussing.

"It makes no sense. I remember being dead. I remember being with Her. I rememberWILLING myself to come back!" Cieryl said

"That makes absolutely no sense! It simply doesn't, Cieryl! Hold out your arm! I need to run more tests on your blood!" she said, poking him with another needle.  
"I'll analyze this immediately and get back to you." She said bluntly -

Nora and Ren sat with Jaune in the JNPR dorm room. Nora's chest covered in bandages and Ren sporting a new scar across his face. Jaune was gone, something within him died with Pyrrha. He just emotionlessly stared at her bed, still not quite grasping that he would never see his best friend again. All Ren and Nora could do was pick up the pieces of the broken team.  
Nora sat rubbing Jaune's back while Ren paced around the room, silent as always. They heard a door and Ren looked through the peephole to see Yang, almost knocking on the door, and instead, turning to walk down the hallway. Yang and Jaune had broken up due to Jaune's emotional state, which Yang understood. She was worried about him, but accepted that now wasn't the time for a relationship. Yangmarched down the hallway, bumping into Neo along the way, the mute girl deciding to follow the blonde brawler to the medbay. When they arrived, Dr. Crimson was staring into a microscope, several machines whirring next to her , conducting tests.

"Hey sis, hey Uncle!" Yang said, glad to see Ruby and Cieryl recovering nicely.

"Hey Yang!" they replied in unison. Dr. Crimson suddenly stood and walked over to Ruby.

"Miss Rose, would you be so kind as to give me another blood sample?" she asked politely.

"What for, Doc?" Ruby inquired, holding out her arm.

"Just checking for infections, dear." She replied, poking Ruby and returning to the microscope. After a few moments, she called Cieryl over. "Cieryl, come here please." She said Cieryl walked over and she pointed at the microscope

"What is it?" He asked.

"Well," she whispered. "I was running tests on Miss Rose when I found some irregularities..." She continued "So I compared her blood sample and DNA to another's blood"

"Okay? I don't see why you need to tell me this." Cieryl said pointedly

"Well, even though she isn't one... Ruby has faunus genes. To be specific... Wolf Faunus genes." Cieryl's eyes widened.

"It's... It's not possible..." he whispered.

"Cieryl, I compared her blood... to yours moments ago." She adjusted her glasses and looked Cieryl dead in the eye

"Ruby Rose... is your daughter, Cieryl."  
-

Cieryl couldn't comprehend what was just said to him

"I don't think I heard you correctly, doc. Run that by me one more time?"

"I said... Ruby Rose is your daughter." Dr. Crimson repeated.

Cieryl looked at Ruby over his shoulder, watching her happily chatting with her teammates. "Run the tests again."

"I've ran them six times, Cieryl. The DNA doesn't lie."

"But how? I never slept... with..." his voice trailed off as a memory passed through his mind, something he didn't realize was there...  
-

 _"I can't believe we massacred all those Alpha Nevermores today! That was INCREDIBLE!" Qrow said drunkenly_

 _"No Joke!" Taiyang shouted, wobbling in his seat and raising a bottle._

 _Summer smiled drunkenly and cheered "We deserve this! Those damn things never stood a chance!" She jeered happily, giving Cieryl a flirty smile, a look which Cieryl returned, having consumed more alcohol than all 3 of them put together. As Taiyang and Qrow passed out, Summer took Cieryl's hand and led him to the bedroom. She tossed him onto the bed, closed the door, and they sank in between the silken sheets_  
 _-_

"What. The. Hell. HOW DID I NOT REMEMBER THIS?" Cieryl screamed, drawing the attention of everyone in the medbay, and waking Velvet in the process.  
Cieryl rubbed his eyes. "I... I can't believe I did that with her..."

"Isn't that what you wanted, Cieryl?" Dr Crimson asked.

"I wanted to spend my life with her. Not sleep with her while we were drunk...God I feel like a shitty person. I can't believe Ruby is... my daughter..." he said a little too loudly, and turned as he heard a glass shatter. All eyes were on him, followed by a room full of surprised gasps.

"W-what?" Ruby stammered, eyes wide

"What did you just say..." Yang said. "What did you just say about Ruby..."

Blake and Weiss just looked at each other, clearly too shocked to speak.

Yatsu wasnt showing any change in emotion, and Velvet had a hand clamped to her mouth, her ears twitching.

"Ruby... you're my... you're my daughter..." Cieryl choked out.

"That's what I thought you said." Yang stated, and stormed out of the room, hair ablaze.

"You said.. you said you were never with my mom..." Ruby said, teary eyed. "YOU LIED TO ME!"

"I didn't even remember it until now, Ruby! I swear!" Cieryl pleaded

"I don't care what the tests say... You will NEVER be my dad!" Ruby said harshly Cieryl was taken aback.

"I... I never... I didn't..." Cieryl couldn't find the words. He stood and walked out in shame, Blake giving him a sad look as he left


	12. Surprising News

Chapter 12

Cieryl was heartbroken. He never expected Ruby to react that way. Right now, however, he had something more pressing on his mind. He needed to call and tell Taiyang he pulled out his scrol and dialed. A familiar voice answered. "Hello?"

"Hey Tai? It's Cieryl."

"Oh hey!" Taiyang replied "It's been a long time! What's up, buddy?" he said excitedly

"Well, I uh... just got some...'Interesting' news from Dr. Crimson. I still can't quite comprehend it but... Ruby is..." Cieryl stammered

"Is your daughter, C. I know." Taiyang cut in

"You knew? How?!"

"Bro, she looks nothing like me. Plus her semblance is a combination of yours and Summer's" he explained

"What do you mean? She only has Summer's"

"Yeah but have you ever really watched her use hers? She speeds up time. That's why she moves so fast and why she can cancel out yours. Plus, Summer told me about that night.  
I knew what it would do to you if I told you, so I just... didn't. I kept it secret for your sake." Taiyang continued; "Before you ask, I'm not mad either. I know, and I don't want to sound like a dick,  
but I will always be her Dad."

"I know, Tai. I would never take that from you. This raises a question though... Is she immortal too?"

"I don't know, C. We will know in time." and with that, they hung up. Now, Cieryl needed to find Yang. He found her in her dorm, head in her hands. "What's wrong, Firecracker?" he asked softly

Yang looked up at him tearfully, her eyes a deep scarlet. "My life is ruined!" she sobbed

"How?" Cieryl asked, concerned. Yang pointed at something next to her on the bed. Cieryl walked over and looked. His eyes widened.

"I decided to look into why I've been so angry and tired lately..." she explained.

There, sitting on the bed, was a little pink piece of plastic, with a little pink plus on it.

Yang Xiao Long was pregnant

"I don't want to tell Jaune. Not while he's like this. He still can't grasp that Pyrrha is dead. I can't put this on him." Yang said shakily.

"Yang, you have to tell him. I know it's hard but you have to. He has a right to know."

Yang sighed. "Perhaps you're right, Unc..." Yang huffed and took a minute to collect herself, and stood. She picked up the test and walked out the door. She walked across the hall and knocked on the door to the dorm opposite. Nora answered happily. "Hey, Yang. What's up?" she asked

"Can I talk to Jaune please? In private?" She asked politely and Nora let her in, dragging a confused looking Ren out into the hallway. Yang closed the door and walked over to Jaune. He was pale, and his face looked sunken. His body looked almost skeletal from lack of eating. He looked up as she approached him, and smiled half heartedly.

"Hey, Yang..." he said "What do you need?" Yang took a deep breath

"Jaune... I need to tell you something. Something important."

"What is it?" Jaune asked curiously. Yang showed him the test. His brow furrowed as he looked. Yang could almost hear the pieces falling into place in his head. She didnt blame him, he wasn't exactly in the best shape. His eyes widened and the color suddenly returned to his face. "You're... you're" he said, pointing at the test. He couldn't seem to find the words, so Yang nodded, smiling.

"I'M GONNA BE A DAD!" Jaune shouted, his voice echoing down the hall. Nora could be heard cheering,followed by a thump that could only be assumed to be the sound of Ren fainting.

 _That went better than I expected_ Yang thought happily


	13. Foreverfall

Chapter 13

Cieryl sat on a bench watching the snow fall. Before him, Ruby and Yang were building a snowman while Jaune sat against a nearby tree. Yang's belly was starting to show more now,  
and Ruby kept teasing her. Cieryl chuckled quietly as Glynda came and sat next to him. She sipped from a mug, and smiled.

"It's nice to be able to relax for awhile, isn't it?" she said, smiling at Cieryl.

"Indeed it is. How are you, by the way? Now that Beacon is back up and repaired, classes should be resuming soon, right?"

"Yeah, they start next week. Miss Xiao Long is being excused from physical training though, for obvious reasons... Mister Arc..." she said menacingly, making the blonde boy jump and blush.

"He's a good kid. A little bit of a dork, but his heart's in the right place." Cieryl replied.

Cieryl's scroll beeped and he looked down. He pulled it out, and upon reading the message, his face fell. Glynda looked at him curiously. "Are you alright? What's wrong?" she asked him worriedly.

Cieryl took a deep breath, and cracked his neck. "Foreverfall... has been spotted." he stood up suddenly.

Glynda looked at him sternly. "You aren't going alone. I won't allow it. You're too important to m-" she cut off, and turned her head as she blushed. "To us. You're too important to us."

Cieryl smiled at her blush and pretended not to notice. "I won't. I'll wait for a team. I might take RWBY with me. I'm sure Ruby might find peace in the death of the beast that took her mom away from her."

"If you do, please be cautious. I don't need to lose more students." she told him

"You know I won't let that happen, Glynda." As they talked, Neo, Blake, and Weiss came from behind them, clearly hiding someone behind them. Neo skipped ahead and tugged on Ruby's cape and Ruby turned. "We have a surprise for you, Ruby." Blake said quietly. Her and Weiss stepped aside, and a young girl with orange hair and a familiar crooked pink bow stood before her.

"PENNY!" Ruby squealed

"Salutat-" She was cut off as Ruby tackled her. Penny overbalanced and fell over and they all roared with laughter

"Don't ever scare me like that again, Penny!" Ruby said, hugging her friend. Cieryl and Glynda laughed heartily and walked back inside. Her scroll plipped and she checked it quickly.

"Well, I have a fourth year team ready to deploy with you. I'm having them head to my office now. I'm going with you as well. No arguements" she added as Cieryl opened his mouth in protest. They headed through the halls, making a beeline for Glynda's office. She kept glancing at Cieryl, but he was too oblivious to notice. They walked through the solid oak doors to her office and a group of four stood in front of her desk. Most notably was the mechanical behemoth standing at the center. On second glance, Cieryl realized it was in fact a giant mechanized suit of power armor. The face plate opened up to reveal a boy in a small chamber inside, with jet black hair, and teal eyes. as Cieryl watched, he flipped toggles and grabbed a handle next to him, which moved the arm forward to shake the ancient hunter's hand.

"I am Roy Veridian. Mechanical Miracle Worker." The boy said. Cieryl's jaw dropped as the full size of the armor loomed over him. The suit was easily 10 feet tall, respectively.

"Roy here is a certified genius and quite the engineer, as you can see" Glynda explained. Cieryl then noticed the tiny girl sitting on Roy's armoed shoulder, swinging her legs childishly.  
She giggled happily as she piped in

"I'm Becca! Becca Stone!" She said happily. She was by far the smallest. She was about half Cieryl's size. A young red haired woman stood next to Roy, holding his armored hand.  
She wore a black body suit, with black combat armor. Her hair was pinned up in a bun with chopsticks holding it in place. She had bright gold eyes and little cat ears poked out of the top of her head, and her tail flicked behind her.

"I'm Aries Blackwood! Pleased to meetcha!" She said, bowing.

Next to them, a young Asian man sat cross legged, a staff on his back. Cieryl noted the head of the staff had an orb of light glowing at the end, and the colors were changing contantly.  
"Hiero Grey" he said quietly. Cieryl noticed immediately that his eyes were closed.

"He's blind." Becca explained, following his gaze.

"My semblance is that I can alter my atomic structure to match any natural element. As such, I feel the vibrations of the elements, allowing me to feel the world around me. It's not quite the same as seeing, but it works just as well." He explained.

Cieryl nodded. "I hope you all are ready. This is an Omega-class Grimm we are dealing with. Foreverfall is the mother of all Nevermore, and it will die by our hand." Glynda patted his back.

"Are you alright?" She asked him, concerned

"I've hunted this beast for 13 years. It's been my life goal to kill it all throughout that time. This is the big moment. Once this is finished, I don't know what to look forward to." Cieryl replied grimly

"Maybe..." Glynda said, bushing once more "Maybe there's someone you fancy? Someone you can... settle down with?" Cieryl smiled

"I don't know..." Cieryl said thoughtfully, once again pretending not to notice her blush. With that, Glynda grabbed a microphone and announced throughout the school:

"Team RWBY, please report to my office immediately" She set the microphone down, and sat, waiting for a moment. Penny came bursting through the door, a giggling Ruby on her back.  
Yang, Blake, and Weiss walked in slowly behind her, Yang softly rubbing her belly.

"What's up, Professor Goodwitch?" They asked in unison.

"Well girls," Glynda said "We're hunting Foreverfall. You lot are coming with us." RWBY looked at her in confusion, having never heard the name.

"Ruby..." Cieryl said softly "It's time we avenged your mother..." 


	14. Tracking the Beast

**A/N: _Sorry for taking so long folks. I've been really busy with work, and personal stuff as well as medical. But I have a big huge segment of story that's all coming together and will hopefully be finished soon_**

Chapter 14

Cieryl paced his room, pondering his life. This had to be done, and he knew it. Question was, what comes after? There was a soft knock on the door, and Cieryl jerked back into reality.  
"Come in" he said calmly, and Ruby entered quietly. "Hey. I thought you weren't speaking to me."

Ruby sighed. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I was just so shocked. Plus I talked to the Doctor after... You're a faunus?" she cocked her head to one side. Cieryl chuckled, and ruffled his hair, forcing his ears to pop out. She looked at him quizically. He smirked and started to explain.

"Ruby, I'm over 200 years old. you learn to hide things like that extremely well in that span of time."

"You can fold them down, can't you?"

"yep." Ruby snorted and laughed.

"I really am sorry. I was in shock... I talked to dad and we hada long discussion about it. I made an important decision as well. Taiyang will always be my daddy... but, if you're okay with it,  
I would like to call you Dad. I thought long and hard about it too. I think some part of me knew the whole time, even though I hadn't really realized it yet. Is.. that okay?"

Cieryl's eyes filled with tears, and he hugged his daughter. "Yes, Ruby. I'd be honored. Thank you so much." He looked down at her amd a big smile spread across his face. He looked over her head and looked in the mirror on the wall, and saw his eye, ticking away happily. "Holy shit! Is that the time? Ruby, we were supposed to be down at the airfield twenty minutes ago!"

They both came up to the airship docks, to the rest of team RWBY, Glynda, and RAHB all waiting for them. Glynda tapped her foot impatiently as they boarded. "Sorry, Goodwitch. Father- Daughter moment" To which she rolled her eyes. They were about to take off when Jaune came sprinting up and climbed on, followed by Ren and Nora. "Mister Arc, what the hell are you doing?"

Jaune panted heavily "I'm not letting Yang go by herself. I'm coming to protect her, and my child." Yang beamed and tackled him

"Awwww Jauney!" Ruby chuckled slightly and Nora piped in.

"And Jaune isnt going anywhere without us. We've lost Pyrrha won't lose him." Ren nodded as he added

"Nothing you say will make us stay, professor Goodwitch" Glynda sighed, rubbing her nose where her glasses sat.

"Very well, you three. you may join us."

As the ship took off, an umbrella handle latched to the door and Neo struggled and huffed until she managed to climb in. Glynda looked furious. "Are we taking the entire school?!"  
Neo started signing furiously, to which Roy spoke up, translating.

"She says:' I'm not letting my friends go with the possibility of not returning. Not without me.'" His voice had a metallic ring to it, speaking through his helmet. Everyone looked surprised at Neo, as she huffed angrilly.

The group continued their chatter until the pilot announced "We're approaching the drop zone!" Making Cieryl look up. "We're dropping a few miles out from the target, due to heavy woods. Your contact is waiting for you there, Mister Jade!" The airship landed a moment later, and a woman stepped forward. She had bubblegum pink hair, and wore soot coated goggles on her forehead. Her eyes were two different colors, one blue and one green, the green one having a pupil that was noticably larger than the blue. She wore fishnet stockings, and a black leather skirt and black crop top. she had fingerless leather gloves on her hands and had "WILD CHILD" tattooed on her knuckles. Her combat boots crunched in the brush as she stepped forward,  
putting a bladed electric guitar on her back. She wiped some soot off her face and everyone except Cieryl gasped as they saw she had a smile literally carved across her face. She grinned at everyone's reaction and jumped on Cieryl, giving him a hug.

"GRAMMMMPS! How are you, old dude?" he chuckled lightly

"Hey my little Firebug" he said as he ruffld her hair. He turned to everyone else "Guys, this is my contact, Violet. She's the great-great-great grandaughter of one of my late teammates.  
She's a fun filled little lollipop triple dipped in psycho" he chuckled again at their confused looks. "She's an obsessive compulsive, bipolar, sociopathic pyromaniac." Violet smiled, the grin making chills run down everyone's spine, including Neo's. "So whatcha got for me, Firebug?" Cieryl asked her

She pulled out a crude drawing of a map that was drawn in what looked like crayon and started pointing at a few points that she had marked. "We have White Fang in the area. They have scout patrols moving around these four points. They have outposts here... here... and here..." she pointed to a few spots before continuing. "From what I'm hearing, they are trying to capture Foreverfall.  
Something about the King Grimm using Foreverfall for something to do with the dead. I think they are starting to catch on to my snooping, so I've been trying to be discreet." Cieryl nodded "The scouts move in groups of five, and they change every two hours. As far as I can tell, the beast resides in one of these three mountains." She gestured again at the map. Everyone studied the map carefully, and Cieryl spoke up after a moment.

"Alright... I'm willing to bet that it's in the third mountain. Just a gut feeling. So here's the plan. We wait until nightfall, then we move out. Jaune, Nora, Ren, and Neo take out the West outpost with Violet. RAHB, take out the East. Penny, Ruby, Blake, Weiss and I will take out the South. Yang, you and Glynda stay here and keep in contact, letting us know their movements. When we go, Violet, start a forest fire and distract them. Thatshould give us an advantage over their faunus advantages. Once thats complete, we will all scout the area together and form a plan for Foreverfall."

They all nodded in agreement, and set up a small campsite. They waited until sundown, and the plan went into motion...


End file.
